Educators have been provided with the option to create shorter length Adaptive assessments for reading and numeracy. Called “Snapshot” assessments, these recognise that in some circumstances a shorter assessment will provide enough information for an Educator’s purposes, whilst minimising the amount of time needed for administration. It is recommended that you discuss with others in your organisation when Snapshot assessments will be used.

Key points about Snapshot assessments

A shorter adaptive assessment for reading and numeracy

The Snapshot assessment is available in both the online Adaptive format and also as a paper based version ('Non-Adaptive Snapshot for Printing'). As each Snapshot assessment includes approximately 16 items, it takes less time to administer. The Snapshot assessments use items from the same item banks as the other reading and numeracy assessments available in the Assessment Tool.

Two types of Snapshot assessment

A Snapshot assessment with a threshold. This assessment is designed to identify whether a Learner is clearly achieving above (or below) a specified learning progression step. In some cases the Learner’s result will be “undecided” indicating that they are close to the threshold step. The report also indicates a best-fit step and scale score.

A Snapshot assessment without a threshold. This type of assessment reports a best-fit step and scale score.

Informative but less precise

The reports from a Snapshot assessment are similar to the regular reports but include information on fewer items. As fewer items are included in a Snapshot assessment the scale score tends to have a larger margin of error.

TEC requirements

The Snapshot assessment meets the requirements for TEC funding. For intensive literacy and numeracy programmes specifically focused on strengthening literacy and numeracy skills, the full diagnostic assessments provide a more detailed analysis.

One effective use of the Snapshot assessment is as an end of programme measure of learning progress. For example, if your organisation has used the full assessment at the start of the programme to get rich diagnostic information you could use the Snapshot assessment at the end of the programme. The margin of error should always be considered when comparing results from two assessments.